The recreational harvest of red snapper in South Atlantic federal waters will reopen for three days in December 2017.Recreational harvest willreopen 12:01 a.m. (local time) on December 8, 2017, and close 12:01 a.m. (local time) on December 11, 2017. During the three-day reopening, the recreational bag limit for red snapper is one fish per person per day with no minimum size limit.

WHY THIS REOPENING IS HAPPENING:

Recreational harvest of red snapper was allowed for six days in November 2017. The 2017 recreational catch limit for red snapper is 29,656 fish. As of November 16, 2017, preliminiary estimates of recreational harvest indicate that the catch limit has not been caught, likely due to inclement weather. Harvest projections show that an additional three-day opening for red snapper by the recreational sector would not result in harvest exceeding the 2017 recreational catch limit.

AFTER THE REOPENING:

Recreational harvest of red snapper is closed for the remaining part of 2017 beginning at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on December 11, 2017.